Eddie Ortiz: New Rochelle alum enjoys rebirth at Cortland

Jan. 24, 2006

Written by

JOE LOMBARDI

THE JOURNAL NEWS

As a senior at New Rochelle, Eddie Ortiz became the Huguenots' first 100-win wrestler and first sectional champion since 1975.

But a little more than a year later, after starting his sophomore season at Division III SUNY Cortland, he decided he'd had enough.

"It was pretty rough," Ortiz said. "A lot of kids I was on the team with freshman year decided not to wrestle, including guys I lived with. I kind of felt almost alone. I was getting real frustrated, and it was getting harder to make weight. I thought I was going to be done with it."

After the Red Dragons' first tournament of the season in November 2004, Ortiz broke the news to coach Brad Bruhn.

"You see that a lot of the friends who you hang out with don't have to do the same thing," Bruhn said. "They don't have to watch what they eat. They have more of a social life. Wrestling is such a physically demanding sport and mentally demanding sport that if they're not 100 percent committed, I don't want them there."

After returning home for winter break, Ortiz helped coach New Rochelle's varsity team. But it didn't take long for him to rediscover his passion for the sport.

"I found myself really into it again," Ortiz said. "So when I got back to school, I talked to Coach and told him how I was feeling."

It was a familiar scenario for Bruhn.

"The first couple of years, it happens with most kids," Bruhn said. "Usually half will come back. Eddie comes from a wrestling family and a good quality school. I knew he'd be back."

But first he had to wait.

"I told him that you kind of let your team down first semester," Bruhn said. "So in order to get back in good graces, come back and train this semester and get ready for next year. He had no problem with that."

Now the 133-pound junior is in the midst of that next year — and he's making the most of it.

He's off to a 16-12 start. And by placing seventh in his weight class at the New York State Collegiate Championships at SUNY Oswego over the weekend, Ortiz helped Cortland finish sixth of 17 teams overall — and second among Division III schools.

"This year has been going pretty well, actually," he said.

After wrestling as a 119-pounder his senior year at New Rochelle (where he finished 36-6 for the season and 116-26 for his career), Ortiz jumped up to 133 pounds at Cortland.

"I could've still been 125 my freshman year, but the 133 spot was open," he said. "I was naturally in the mid-130s before I came to school, so even if I made 125, it would've been a struggle to stay there. But I'm pretty comfortable with the weight. I'm able to hang with the guys at my weight strength-wise, and now I feel more comfortable."

"He's a huge asset to our program," Bruhn said. "He's becoming one of the leaders as well, which helps because we only have one senior."

Though Ortiz hopes to become a coach, perhaps even at New Rochelle, the phys-ed major has a renewed appreciation for the opportunity he now has.

"It still crosses my mind every day that it's coming to the end and that I should make the most out of it," he said. "I always push myself to make the most of it.

"Even when I decided to stop, I still loved the sport. That's why I went home and coached, and it made me realize that I wanted to go out there and compete again."